"Each time a girl opens a book and reads a womanless history, she learns that
she is worth less."Myra Pollack Sadker

"Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And it is
perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries, geography, culture, or
wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress
towards equality, development and peace."Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, 1999

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Zonta International (ZI) is a worldwide service
organization of women executives in business and the professions working
together to advance the status of women. There are more than 30,000
members in 1,200 clubs in 66 countries. Zontians volunteer their time,
talents and energy to local and international service projects to fulfil
Zonta’s mission to advance the status of women.

Founded in 1919 in Buffalo, New York, USA, Zonta takes its name from the Lakota
Sioux Indian word meaning ‘honest and trustworthy’. ZI , its districts
and its clubs are non-sectarian and non-partisan.

Zonta arrived in Australia with the establishment of the first Sydney Club in
1929. This was one of the first Clubs to come into existence outside the
United States and Canada. Our own Club, the Zonta Club of Swan Hills,
proudly celebrated its 13 th
birthday on Australian Day, 26 January 2012.

Although only a small club, our members work tirelessly
throughout the year raising funds to support women and families in need.
Approximately one third of all monies raised are forwarded to ZI
Headquarters to assist in providing for international projects.

During the current Biennium Zonta International’s projects include:

Liberia Fistula Program;

Elimination of New Paediatric HIV Infection and Prevention and
Response to Survivors of
Domestic and Gender Based Violence in
Rwanda;

Mass Communication with a Purpose: Global Partnership on Edutainment
for Social Change;

Safe Cities for Women in Honduras;

Empowering Women in Rural Samoa to Combat Violence; and
Various Education and Leadership Development Programs.

Locally the Zonta Club of Swan Hills’ projects include:

Annual Studies Assistance Grant, aimed at assisting a young
post-compulsory student to continue
her studies;

Young Women in Public Affairs Award, intended to encourage young
women to enter careers in
public affairs, public policy or community
organisations.

Woman of Achievement Award, which acknowledges a significant
community contribution by an
otherwise unrecognised woman.

You are encouraged to take the first step towards making a difference to the
lives of less fortunate women and girls, locally and globally. With this
in mind, I invite you to navigate the pages of our website and to follow
the link to the ZI ‘site, in order to discover what a truly wonderful
organisation this is. You are also invited to attend one of our dinner
meetings which are held at the Mallard Duck Cafe in Henley Brook on the
third Wednesday of the month. Further information in this regard is
available by emailing us at zonta@zontaswanhills.org.au

Come
on, what’s stopping you? The most rewarding journey of your life could
be just a click away.